ABSTRACT
Yampah is native to southern Canada, and the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The plants grow from low plains to moderate elevations in mountains. Yampah is one of the best of the dozens of "root crops" that were regularly harvested by indigenous peoples of North America. It was never domesticated and, with the introduction of potatoes and similar European vegetables, yampah became obsolete. In the marketplace, yampah would have to compete directly with carrot, potato, turnip, and rutabaga, and there is little chance of it becoming a new major crop. However, there are market niches for minor root crops-parsnip is an example of a minor carrot family root crop-and a program of breeding, management, and marketing could develop yampah into a significant commercial crop.
